East Peoria, Ill. - The energy was palpable inside Lorene Ramsey Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. After all, the seventh-ranked ICC volleyball team (31-10) was competing for a District Championship, and on the other side was 10th-ranked Heartland (30-9), who the Cougars had just beaten in four sets just over two weeks prior. After the Cougars won an exciting first set, the page turned towards the Hawks, as Heartland won sets two and three to take a massive amount of momentum into the fourth set. Alas, ICC would take the fourth set and the fifth set, and in front of perhaps without argument the loudest crowd of the season, the Cougars would come away with back-to-back district titles and the 33rd appearance at the National Tournament in program history. 

In the semifinal earlier in the day, the Cougars cruised to a 3-0 sweep win over John Wood.

#7 ICC COUGARS 3, John Wood 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-11)
Kills | Emily Allison (12)
Assists | Shelby Emich (32)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (26), Emily Allison (13)
Blocks | Kaitlyn Baumann (3)
Aces | Emily Allison (3), Amber Brawley (2), Makenzie Pflederer (2)

#7 ICC COUGARS 3, #10 Heartland 2 (26-24, 18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-10)
Kills | Emily Allison (15), Makenzie Pflederer (12), Hannah Tellor (10)
Assists | Shelby Emich (52)
Digs | Emily Cronkhite (46), Emily Allison (26), Hannah Tellor (23), Makenzie Pflederer (22)
Blocks | Kaitlyn Baumann (4)
Aces | Amber Brawley (2), Makenzie Pflederer (1), Emily Cronkhite (1)

SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM COACH TRACY HEFFREN
On just how special the atmosphere in the Championship was
"I mean, Heartland brought a huge crowd too. With so many of our sports out of town, I was wondering what we were going to have. We. Had. A. Crowd. It was so fun to hear them chant 'ICC' there at the end. I loved it. The energy was amazing."

On how the team was able to regather despite Heartland being ahead 2-1 in sets
"After that third set, we could've just rolled over and handed it to them. We did switch our lineup, so we rotated to different matchups to try and change some things. I think that helped us."

On how Heartland seemed to be ready for nearly everything ICC threw at them
"Oh, yeah. They had everything up. They were so scrappy. We just kept chipping away. They were obviously picking a lot of things up, we just had to find a way to score in different ways."

On the potential to have 3 Region 24 teams in the National Tournament (would be Parkland, ICC, and Heartland if all get in)
"Region 24 is VERY strong. It's evident by us (ICC and Heartland) going down to the wire. It's a very strong region. That's why we're thankful there are automatic bids now, so there is that potential to get three teams in."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2023 NJCAA Division II National Volleyball Tournament
Pairings TBA